Education

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is challenging colleges and universities to think creatively about how they educate future scientists, science teachers, and a scientifically-literate public. The Institute has invited 215 undergraduate-focused colleges and universities from across the country to apply for a total of $60 million in science education grants.

USA Funds, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit that helps American families benefit from postsecondary education, has awarded $1 million grants to two nonprofit organizations that help disadvantaged students succeed in college. 

Bottom Line, a nonprofit organization in Boston, will receive funding as the recipient of the USA Funds Trustees’ National Award for College Success. Starfish Initiative, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit, will receive funding under the USA Funds John Burkhart Indiana Award for College Success.

A recent study, “Harnessing Corporate Philanthropy to Educate the World’s Poor,” conducted by the Center for Universal Education finds that every year, American corporations contribute nearly half a billion dollars for education in developing countries. This estimate shows that, in the aggregate, U.S. corporations constitute a significant source of financial resources for education in developing countries. In fact, they are the 7th largest donor after the World Bank, France, Germany, United States, Netherlands and Japan.

Cable magnate John Malone has donated $50 million to the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science, the largest gift in the school's history. The donation, announced on Wednesday, will endow 10 new professorships in fields such as biomedical and chemical engineering. Two of them will be joint appointments with the Yale School of Management.

To mark the 10th anniversary of The Broad Prize for Urban Education, the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation announced it will endow the award with $40 million to ensure its sustainable distribution for decades to come.

The annual award honors large urban school districts that demonstrate the strongest student achievement and improvement while narrowing achievement gaps between income and ethnic groups.

The $80 million gift Duke University received from The Duke Endowment is the largest ever for the school and the largest ever awarded by the Charlotte-based funder. The funds, which will be paid out over multiple years, will be used to renovate three historic buildings that were part of the university's original construction.

New sports fees, out-of-state field trips and extra marketing campaigns were some of the reasons attributed to the increase in 2010 tax-credit donations for many Arizona school districts and charter schools.

Preliminary totals show public schools received $42.3 million in tax-credit money given for extracurricular activities and character-building programs. This number is expected to increase at least another $1 million as the numbers continue to trickle into the Arizona Department of Revenue.

Washington STEM, a new state-wide education nonprofit, has made an inaugural investment of $2.4 million to 15 educators, schools and education nonprofits from all corners of the state. The inaugural grantees represent leading edge ideas with evidence of success across the K-12 spectrum throughout Washington state. Each grantee is generating discoveries that will have far reaching benefits for communities beyond their own.

The University of Southern California will announce Wednesday its largest donation ever, a $200-million gift from alumnus David Dornsife, the chairman of a large steel fabricating company, and his wife, Dana.

The Dornsifes' donation will go to USC's College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the university's biggest academic unit, without restrictions on how it should be spent.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker Thursday provided his most detailed accounting yet of private donations made to bolster reform efforts in the state’s largest school district. There is $25 million from a New York investor, $10 million from a venture capitalist, $5 million from a team of husband-and-wife bankers and $3 million from a prominent philanthropists.

The disclosure comes amid questions about how much Booker has raised to match Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million gift to the city schools, what the money is being used for and in what amounts.